Tag Archives: St. Vincent

Now, I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again: I did not really like 2011 for music. It was pretty bad. I waited and waited and waited multiple times this year for music to hit me in the face that I would love and it took forever. I don’t like what feels like all the indie artists who got really popular this year. I don’t like Top 40 either. It just happens. I can dance around to stuff but that doesn’t mean I’m going to sit and really give it my time and thoughts. Though I’m a total grump about this, the albums that did break through for me are pretty great. I can say that I’m in love with my top two or three, I think they’re amazing. It’s similar to what happened to me last year. (My top 3 were Foals, Junip and !!! – still three of my favourite bands, and still three albums that I listened to well into 2011.) My top 3 mean the most to me this year and they’re a mixture of a band someone got me into and I then became obsessed, a singer who I’ve been into since her first album came out a couple years ago and a new local band that shot to stardom as fast as you can say stardust.

So here goes:

10. Peter Elkas – Repeat Offender

I spent January dancing around to Repeat Offender, and I’ll always remember my mom dancing around to it too when I had it on one day while I was visiting home. Peter brought us simple yet hearty songs that were infectious in charm and easy to sing along to, and it was even more fun to see him play them at the Dakota Tavern.

9. Pat Jordache – Future Songs

Pat took me by surprise. At first I didn’t think I could get into his music, but it didn’t take me very long to fall right into it. He keeps you coming back, leading you by a hook on a string, to his carefully crafted quirkiness and dark, deep vocals. His bass playing drives every other little bit through and through all of that, the songs come out catchy.

8. Dog Day – Deformer

I cannot resist Seth Smith and Nancy Urich’s ways. Deformer saw the band’s first full-length release as just a duo of the married couple, and I found it to be their best work yet. Songs like “Part Girl” and “Scratches” are gems, and I still can’t help waiting for Seth’s high notes that work so perfectly. I was also really glad to be able to see them play again this year – if they ever come through your town, go.

7. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

This year, St. Vincent fully caught my attention, and not just for those big brown eyes. (Note: if you see her live, many a bro will yell things like ‘Annie, you’re so beautiful!’ ‘Annie, I LOVE YOU!’ which just feels hilarious, but there is more to this siren.) Her lyrics are amazingly well thought-out, you won’t find work like that very far in indie music these days. Strange Mercy puts a hold on you, but it doesn’t shake you or anything like that, it sits you down and explains things and maybe ruffles your hair up a bit. “Cheerleader” is one of my favourite songs of the year.

6. David Lynch – Crazy Clown Time

2011 was the year I was introduced to Twin Peaks and I’ve loved every minute of it. So when I found out the creator/director David Lynch had an album coming out, I was intrigued and excited, knowing my neck hairs would raise and be tingled in weird delight. David definitely has songs on here that sound just like you’re in that wooded town, and every time it comes on it feels like an adventure. “Pinky’s Dream” and “Good Day Today” are two of the coolest songs I’ve heard in a while, and they make me dreamy and optimistic, respectively. Try playing this album while driving along the highway at night, I have, and you’ll be captivated. Each song on this album brings up crazy imagery to me, which is another reason that made me love it. I’ve pictured a cyclops dragging his arms along his sides in woe and so much more. Now that’s how you do music.

5. Hooded Fang – Tosta Mista

I declared it then, Tosta Mista was my album of the summer. It’s full of fast jams and lyrics that somewhat mask the opposite feeling of what it’s showing in a sunny light. It’s a lot of fun, and that’s exactly what I needed when it came out. It’s impossible to resist bopping around to. It’s over very quickly and so you just play it over again. A fine piece of work that came from a local band.

4. High Places – Original Colors

Though I have to keep stopping myself from writing ‘colours’ and they’re not as good live as they are on record, I still loved this. It brings me to a new level of mindset whenever I listen, like I’m in some hazy art gallery club where the walls are slanted and the lights are red and moving around and people are all dressed in glittery costumes. But they’re talking about reality, not dreams. It’s slow and fast at the same time. “Year Off” is compelling.

3. Austra – Feel it Break

Austra blew up in 2011. It was the craziest rocket to fame I’ve seen for a band since the emo days in high school with Cute is What We Aim For (heh). I remember Dorian, the bass player, talking about how he was in a new band with a bunch of girls after Spiral Beach ended, and they had to come up with a name before a show. They were Private Life, then back to the leader’s name Katie Stelmanis and then Austra. I interviewed Katie in the spring and I was stunned by the response to them then, but look at where they are by now, it’s incredible. And well-deserved. Feel it Break is a magical piece of work, like Katie and the gang struck gold while digging and digging and digging for years. Yes, they had to switch gears in the music they were normally working in, but as long as they love what they’re doing now, I’ll love it too. “The Beat and the Pulse” knocked me over and still does every time it comes on. I’ve seen them live a couple times and it’s dazzling, even though the Phoenix last month felt packed beyond capacity and I was all the way at the back. I’m really curious to see what’s in their future, and for god sakes I hope they get some rest soon. Poor guys, getting to go to Europe about a million times this year.

2. tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l

Dear Merrill Garbus, you are my hero. I dressed up as you for Halloween and won a costume contest. I wish I could dress that way every day. I can’t stop smiling whenever I see you play (twice this year, hell yes) and neither can anyone else. Your shows are my happy place. Your energy is extremely positive, whether you’re feeling that or not, which makes me think you’re a strong, in control woman who knows how to get things across, even though every time you play, you seem utterly surprised at the response you get from the crowd (not just the things people try to get your looping pedal to pick up). It’s just warm and fuzzy and it’s so great to see an entire venue dancing and smiling. So great. Especially in Toronto. I loved BiRd BrAiNs but w h o k i l l knocked it out of the park for me. I knew this kind of music was coming – more streamlined and focused, but put together much better and with you taking on drums – so I was prepared. This album is brilliance to me. I tear up to the “Bizness” video and I get my girl power on with “Killa.” I played “My Country” over and over when I was upset at the ugly response of Americans to the death of Osama Bin Laden (yes, it’s a good thing this is over, yada yada, but those people were ridiculous in the way they celebrated, and it made me ashamed to come from there). This album will stick with me for a long time.

1. Little Dragon – Ritual Union

My coworker introduced me to Little Dragon in the summer and my year was changed from that point on. I was obsessed with Ritual Union. “Nightlight” and “Brush the Heat” are mesmerizing and exciting. I saw them play in the fall and fell in love with the entire band. Each member has this way they move and it’s amazing to watch. They have their own charm that works together even though they all seem so different. I wasn’t too familiar with their other two albums at that point, but seeing those songs played live – especially the ones they let loose on – was so cool. From that point on, I wanted to hug myself whenever I played them but it wasn’t until I could not stop playing older songs “Place to Belong” and then the trio of “Looking Glass” “My Step” and “Feather” that I was really, really hooked. Ask any of my close friends and they will tell you. Those songs mean so much to me and the year I’ve had, and they bring this strange aura over me whenever I play them, especially “Place to Belong” and “Feather.” Ritual Union is my album of the year, but really it’s all three of their albums together in my mind. Plus, Little Dragon makes it very easy to be a fan, they’re all over the web from Twitter to Facebook to Instagram to YouTube. I’ve watched a ton of great things from them on YouTube that are quirky and cute or captivating and interesting. Everything about this band is so fascinating to me, and their blend of electro soul is so fresh and exactly what I needed.

A couple months ago, I wrote about the music I’ve loved through 2011 so far. Now it’s time for what I’m looking forward to for the rest of the year, and it’s surprisingly a much longer list than I thought it would be. And with the artists that have found themselves on this list, I can rest knowing that 2011 should hopefully end up with some great albums to boast.

Soley – We Sink – Sept 2

This beautiful Icelandic singer releases her first full-length, We Sink, after last year’s lovely daydream EP, Theatre Island. (It was a RoundLetters favourite of 2010.) You may know her as a member of Seabear, the cute beyond words pop band, but she’s really starting to come into her own solo, all soft and imaginative. Hear “I’ll Drown.”

CANT – Dreams Come True – Sept 13

Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor goes solo via his own Terrible Records and Warp. Take a listen to “Answer,” which is a gloomy, underwater groove kingdom.

St. Vincent – Strange Mercy – Sept 13

Annie Clark will release her long awaited for third album, and if the rest of it is like the new single “Cruel,” it’s bound to be a beautiful expedition into tenderness, texture and many layers. Watch the video for “Cruel,” in which the gorgeous songstress gets kidnapped and buried alive.

Like a true artist, Lekman may be arguing with himself, but he’s emerged four years after his last full release with an even sunnier and snarkier exterior. It’s time to hit the beach in every last moment you can; cha cha to the same titled song.

Elliott Brood – Days into Years – Sept 27

Finally, this ever-Canadian trio is back with a new album, one that, from the two songs I’ve heard, sounds more light-hearted but aged. Casey Laforet seems to have taken more control of the singing, which is a different kind of texture than what Mark Sasso boasts. Check out the latest of the two country-folk tracks, “If I Get Old.”

Ohbijou – Metal Meets – Sept 27

These Toronto darlings are back too, since 2009’s Beacons. Metal Meets is their third album, and no doubt it will have the essence to bring us locals smoothly into the fall via their soft tones and Casey Mecija’s lovely vocals. You can hear the new single, “Niagara,” on their website.

Feist – Metals – Oct 4

Metals marks Feist’s foray back into the music world since the music world got to know her by “1 2 3 4.” That’s a pretty high standard to live up to, but the name and talent hasn’t been shattered once, so she’ll bring this next album up strongly. You can hear teasers for the album on her website, listentofeist.com.

Loney, Dear – Hall Music – Oct 4

This sweet Swede Emil Svanängen will release Hall Music, the first since 2009’s Dear John. His beautiful, quiet orchestral tunes can be heard if you download the single “My Heart.”

Casiokids – Aabenbaringen over aaskammen – Oct 11

These Norway popsters on Polyvinyl have a new party to bring to us this fall, but let’s get excited now. This release, translated to “The Revelation Over the Mountain,” is bound to be heaps of fun. On stage, they’re known for puppets, light shows and general crazy fun, and on record it’s a light bounce to get you through the day. This album features pals of theirs Of Montreal, too. You can listen to the first sleepy hopper single, “Det haster!”

Marketa Irglova – Anar – Oct 11

This half of The Swell Season is going solo, and it’s interesting for the facts that she’s the quiet, timid one of the Once-couple and seemed to like the shadows. Her talent is undeniable though, and that was best seen in concert. She’s gotten more and more into writing her own material, and now we have Anar to look to as a new view of the shy musician. Hear her break out of the shell on the soulful “Go Back.”

High Places – Original Colors – Oct 11

Rob Barber and Mary Pearson took their band from Brooklyn to LA, giving it a sunnier, shinier texture. Original Colors is their third full-length, after last year’s sleeper hit High Places vs. Mankind. The first artsy electro offering from the album is “Year Off.”

Kathryn Calder – Bright and Vivid – Oct 25

This precious BC-based songstress of The New Pornographers and now defunct Immaculate Machine is back with her sophomore solo album, and it’s much more of a foray into electronics than her previous work. It’s layered, adventurous and light, as evidenced by the first single, “Who Are You?”

Update:

Also looking forward to Dan Mangan’s Oh Fortune, as well as local releases from Army Girls, Heartbeat Hotel and the Darcys. TBC.